Flying HISTORIC SKIES

Memories come home for local veterans in unique flight

The roar and vibration of the B-17s four engines and the squeal of tires rolling across the tarmac sparked a wave of memories for James Miller.

Miller, now 91, was a World War II tail gunner on a B-17 just like the one that came to the Hillsboro Airport Monday, part of a history tour to honor the sacrifices of the men who flew them in combat during World War II.

The Memphis Belle  which was built in 1944 in Long Beach, Calif., and came complete with the classic World War II-era artwork of a beautiful dame on the aircrafts nose  visited Hillsboro on behalf of the Liberty Foundation, a Claremore, Okla.-based organization dedicated to preserving the heritage of the iconic aircraft.

The Liberty Foundations Keith Youngblood said the organization is working to ensure people get to see a living B-17  not just a static display  and hear about the experiences of those who flew in them.

On Monday afternoon, Miller was among a small group of veterans and journalists who were able to experience something only a relative few people have done  flying in a B-17 bomber that was itself a veteran and survivor from World War II.

Before Mondays flight, Youngblood told the passengers they were in for a tiny taste of what B-17 crews experienced during WWII. He passed out earplugs and warned everyone to keep a tight grip on their cameras when standing in the open gun ports.

This is a non-certified aircraft, he explained. Youll feel, smell and taste this flight. This is an assault on all your senses. Its a spectacular piece of history.

Taking to the skies in 2014 was a very different experience for Miller, who now lives in the Orenco area of Hillsboro. Miller, a veteran of the 379th Bomb Group, was stationed in Kimbolton, England, in 1944.

He said flying in a B-17 again was something he treasured. Although he had to be helped into the airplane, Miller said he appreciated being asked to go on the flight  especially since, he joked, this time no one was shooting at him.

Because the four-engine B-17s were heavily armed with machine guns, including some housed in rotating turrets, the aircraft earned the nickname Flying Fortress. Although the bombers were rugged and durable, with anti-aircraft fire and German fighter planes attacking them, a staggering number of B-17s were shot down. During the war, the 379th Bomb Group was assigned a total of 345 B-17s, and of those, 141 were lost in combat.

Miller was invited to be at the Hillsboro Airport to share a bit of his individual story, and it was a dramatic one. Sent to England in March 1944, the 21-year-old Miller started going out on missions right away.

On my first mission, a plane on my right got a direct hit. I saw a flash and looked up and saw four balls of fire going down. That was an introduction of what I was in for, he said. It hardly seems so long ago to me, but that was 70 years ago.

Miller went on 18 combat missions, and then, on May 13, 1944, his B-17 was shot down.

Our plane had seven holes in the wing and it caught fire, Miller recalled. The pilot told us to bail out.

The aircraft was put on automatic pilot, and everyone on board Millers plane got out safely. But they were over German territory, and were rounded up.

I spent 11 months and 13 days in a German prison camp, Miller said.

We want their stories to go out, said Don Keller, a Beaverton resident and a member of the Eighth Air Force Historical Society, an organization that works with veterans to keep their memories and history alive. Its very important to remember what these men did in World War II. We are losing World War II veterans at a very high rate.

Youngblood pointed out that B-17 crew members  who were typically in their late teens or early 20s  endured almost unimaginable stresses.

This airplane would have carried a crew of 10, he said. They flew in unpressurized planes at 25,000 to 30,000 feet, and at that altitude the temperatures would be negative 30 degrees. They were constantly on oxygen and had electrically-heated suits. What these guys did for hours on end is pretty remarkable. It had to be miserable and cold; pretty horrible conditions.

Our mission is to educate the people of America about the courageous World War II veterans, and remember those brave aircrew who never made it home, added Scott Maher, director of flight operations for the Liberty Foundation. Memphis Belle is a living museum, our heritage not in mothballs or the pages of a dusty book, but real life, three dimensions, here and now.

Keller said he had been fascinated with B-17s since the first time he saw them flying when he was 16 years old in Santa Barbara, Calif.

I heard two B-17s flying low and slow, and it was all over for me, he said. I had to learn all about them after that. This history needs to be remembered.